Central Military Commission

State and Party Central Military Commissions

At the apex of Chinese military organization stood two bodies--
the state and party Central Military Commissions. The
1982 state Constitution created the state Central Military
Commission as the state organ subordinate to the National People's
Congress responsible for "directing the country's armed forces". The state Central
Military Commission was the state's decision-making body in
military affairs and directed and commanded the armed forces. The
state Central Military Commission consisted of the chairman, who
was commander in chief of the armed forces, an executive vice
chairman, two vice chairmen, and four other members.

The party Central Military Commission, elected by the party
Central Committee, exercises de facto, authoritative policy-making
and operational control over the military through
the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army
(PLA). In addition to the
chairman, the party Central Military Commission in 1987 included a
permanent vice chairman who was concurrently secretary general, two
vice chairmen, and four deputy secretaries general.

The leadership
of the state and party Central Military Commissions was identical,
but the membership of the party Central Military Commission below
the top leadership was thought to include regional commanders and
service chiefs. Because the PLA has been under party control since
its inception, the leadership of the party over the military did
not change with the establishment of the state Central Military
Commission. Although parallel leadership blurred the distinction
between the two groups, the party Central Military Commission
retained its traditional, preeminent position in charge of military
affairs.

Operational control of the PLA ran from the two Central
Military Commissions to the PLA's three general departments:
General Staff Department, General Political Department, and General
Logistics Department. Below the department level ran parallel
chains of command for operational, political, and logistical
matters, each with its own separate communications facilities.
Military policy originated in the party Political Bureau or the
party Central Military Commission, became an operational order at
the General Staff Department level, flowed through the military
regions, and arrived at a main-force unit. Orders to regional
forces also passed through the military district (provincial)
level.